Tubular core.



S. WHEELER.

TUBULAR GORE. APPLICATION FILED APR. 15, 1909.

9?,@?, Patented Oct. 11,1910.

ERS co, wasmucrau, n. c.

SETH WHEELER, OF CASTLEION, NEW YORK.

TUBULAR GORE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Get. 11, 1910.

Application filed April 15, 1909. Serial No. 490,009.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Sn'rrr WHEELER, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Castleton, county of Rensselaer, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tubular Cores, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

Rolls of wrapping, toilet paper, and the like are ordinarily provided with a hollow core, comprising a paper or cardboard tube by means of which they are mounted in a suitable hanger or support. hen the paper is used up it then becomes necessary to remove the core in order that a new roll may be placed in position, but it is common practice at the present day to lock the roll in position in the hanger or support by a device which is only accessible from a point covered by the roll and core, whereby all of the paper must first be unwound from the core and the core then destroyed before it is possible to unlock the device. This is to prevent the unauthorized removal of the roll in bulk. T o destroy a heavy cardboard tube of the character heretofore commonly employed, (such a tube being similar in construction to mailing tubes,) is quite dil'licult except by the use of special tools, and one of the objects of my present invention is to provide a tubular core of such character that when the paper or other material wound thereon has been removed, it may readily be destroyed without the aid of special tools.

To this end my invention consists in a tubular core composed of a sheet of thin cardboard or similar material, wound sev eral times upon itself until the required thickness and strength is obtained, the strip being secured together at its extremities only. I preferably secure the inner end of the strip from curling inward, whereby it might catch in some portion of the hanger and thereby prevent the proper rotation of the roll, by interlocking the end of the strip through a slit in the strip between the first and second convolutions, and I preferably form the outer extremity of the strip with two projections or tongues which I secure to the outermost convolution by means of some adhesive material such as glue, the portion between them being left free of such adhesive material whereby the fingers of the operator may be readily inserted and the end grasped for the purpose of ripping the core apart.

In order that my invention may be thoroughly understood, I will now proceed to describe an embodiment thereof, having reference to the accompanying drawings illustrating the same, and will then point out the novel features in claims.

In the drawin s: Figure l is a View in perspective of a roll of paper mounted upon a core constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a face View of the core removed from the roll. Fig. 3 is a face view of the strip of which the core is constructed. Fig. i is a detail sectional view in perspective showing the first coil or convolution of the strip during the process of producing the finished core.

In Fig. 1, 5 designates the roll of paper and 6 the tubular core or support upon which the same is wound. This core is composed of the strip shown opened out in Fig. 3, the said strip comprising a body portion 7; a tongue 8 at one end thereof; a slit 9 in the body portion, the said slit being at a distance from the end at which the tongue is located about equal to the circumference of the inner tube when formed; and two tongues or projecting portions 10 at the opposite end thereof, the same being preferably undercut at 11, as'shown. The core is formed by rolling up the strip commencing at the end at which the tongue 8 is located, the said tongue being inserted through the slit 9 to form the first convolution as is shown in the detail Fig. 4. The strip :is thereafter rolled upon itself to form the complete tube shown in Fig. 2, the end tongues or projections 10 being preferably secured upon the convolution beneath them by means of an adhesive, such as glue, paste, or the like. Such adhesive material is preferably employed only beneath the said tongues or projections 10 whereby the fingers of the attendant may be readily inserted beneath the portion 12 between the said tongues or projections for the purpose of ripping the core apart. The strip is preferably formed of thin cardboard so that it will readily tear and the inclined portions 11 tend to cause the strip to tear upon divergent lines which quickly spread to the outer edge of the core and thereafter leave the remainder of the core free to be unwound. The interlocking of the tongue 8 through the slit 9 between the first and second convolutions of the rolled tube dispenses with the necessity of employing adhesive material at the inner end of the core and positively prevents the inner end of the strip from curling inward, whereby it might interfere with the free rotation of the roll and core upon its support. The use of a very small quantity of adhesive material be neath the tongues or projections 10 is all that is necessary because immediately after the commencement of the winding upon the core of the paper to be supported thereby, the paper will itself prevent the strip forming the core from unwinding, the interlocking of the tongue with the portion of the strip in proximity to the slit 9 positively preventing the diameter of the roll from being reduced. The employment of the adhesive material is then only for the purpose of temporarily holding the convolutions of the tubular support together prior to the winding of the paper thereon, and in case the paper were wound upon the tube immediately the strip was wound up, or the end of the paper were secured to the outer end of the strip 7 the adhesive material at these points might be dispensed with. If it is desired to produce a stiffer roll, adhesive material may be used at various points along the strip, as for instance, a narrow band thereof may be employed along the center of the strip, or isolated spots may be disposed in any desired positions without seriously affecting the ready destructibility of the core in the manner above mentioned.

While my improved core is particularly adapted for use in connection with paper rolls and I have so shown and described it herein, it will, of course, be understood that it is capable of other uses.

What I claim is:

1. A tubular core composed of a strip of material wound in a series of convolutions upon itself, the said strip provided at its inner end with an opening therein and a tongue for coengagement therewith, whereby the portions constituting the opposite ends of the first convolution are interlocked.

2. A tubular core composed of a strip of material wound in a series of convolutions upon itself, the said strip provided at its inner end with an opening therein and a tongue for coengagement therewith, whereby the portions constituting the opposite ends of the first convolution are interlocked, the said strip being otherwise unsecured throughout the major portion thereof between the convolutions.

3. A tubular core composed of a strip of material wound in a series of convolutions upon itself, the said strip being provided at its inner end with tongue, and having an opening in proximity to the inner end for receiving the said tongue whereby the said tongue is interlocked between the first and second convolutions.

4. A tubular core composed of a strip of material wound in a series of convolutions upon itself and provided at its inner end with self interlocking portions for retaining the first convolution, the said strip being provided at its outer end with two tongues near the outer edges thereof and which project beyond the portion between them, the said tongues or project-ions being secured to the portions of the strip beneath them by means of an adhesive material while the end portions of the strip between the said tongues or projections are unattached to the portion of the strip beneath the same.

5. A tubular core composed of a strip of material wound in a series of convolutions upon itself, the said strip being provided at its inner end with interlocked portions and secured together at its outer end only, by adhesive material.

6. A tubular core composed of a strip of material wound in a series of convolutions upon itself, the said strip being provided at its inner end with interlocked portions and secured together at its outer end only, by adhesive material, the adhesive material extending for a part of the distance across the strip only.

SETH VJHEELER. lVitnesses WVM. A. YVHEELER, SETH W'HEELER. Jr. 

